'At Pace'....

[Fab Foodie]

It arrived on the scene suddenly, near the start of Covid, a whole new Conservative speak. All of a sudden, stuff was happening 'At Pace', or 'At Scale', no longer quickly or urgently, Bigly (sic) or in large quantities/ volumes/numbers, but just at pace and at scale.
Did anyone else notice or is it just me?
It seems to become part of the new speaking....
It annoys.

 

[shep]

Christ, this one's scraping the barrel even for you.

 

[BoldonLad]

It arrived on the scene suddenly, near the start of Covid, a whole new Conservative speak. All of a sudden, stuff was happening 'At Pace', or 'At Scale', no longer quickly or urgently, Bigly (sic) or in large quantities/ volumes/numbers, but just at pace and at scale.
Did anyone else notice or is it just me?
It seems to become part of the new speaking....
It annoys.

Agreed, annoying... but.... just the latest in a long line of using new phases, to mean absolutely nothing new. A familiar "technique" for most, if nat all, of my working life, I even joined in, on occasions.

I think the term "bullshit" describes it quite well.

 

[Bromptonaut]

It arrived on the scene suddenly, near the start of Covid, a whole new Conservative speak. All of a sudden, stuff was happening 'At Pace', or 'At Scale', no longer quickly or urgently, Bigly (sic) or in large quantities/ volumes/numbers, but just at pace and at scale.
Did anyone else notice or is it just me?
It seems to become part of the new speaking....
It annoys.

Delivering 'At pace' has been part of Civil Service job specifications/competencies for a decade or so.

On the basis of 'plagiarising with pride' I suspect i came from there.

 

[fozy tornip]

Another curious linguistic tic is 'serve' or 'give service' to describe some jobs. We hear here of men 'serving' in prisons or 'giving service' in the RAF. So what's that about, an effort to establish continuity with the Round Table and Code of Chivalry?
Might these plain speaking chaps in fact simply be working for a wage?

 

[BoldonLad]

Delivering 'At pace' has been part of Civil Service job specifications/competencies for a decade or so.

On the basis of 'plagiarising with pride' I suspect i came from there.

QED

 

[shep]

Another curious linguistic tic is 'serve' or 'give service' to describe some jobs. We hear here of men 'serving' in prisons or 'giving service' in the RAF. So what's that about, an effort to establish continuity with the Round Table and Code of Chivalry?
Might these plain speaking chaps in fact simply be working for a wage?

I assume it's relating to seving one's country or Monarch but obviously that isn't something you would like is it?

 

[Bromptonaut]

Another curious linguistic tic is 'serve'

In an agricultural sense to 'serve' has an altogether different meaning - as in the Boar serving the Sow.

An irony lost on a Tory party that had 'Conservatives - Serving the Nation' as its conference strapline one year...

 

[fozy tornip]

I assume it's relating to seving one's country or Monarch but obviously that isn't something you would like is it?

Exactly. We're back in Camelot, or as Malory might have put it:
"Put the f*cking kettle on, you green c**t!" joshed Gawain.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Delivering 'At pace' has been part of Civil Service job specifications/competencies for a decade or so.

On the basis of 'plagiarising with pride' I suspect i came from there.

Interesting. Makes some sense.

 

[Rusty Nails]

As long as we are not "going forward" at pace I don't really care. It's all PR bullsh*t as used by all governments to add a bit of polish to the turds they serve up.

 

[winjim]

Doesn't one move 'apace' rather than 'at pace'?

eg. 'Construction of the new Death Star continues apace, my lord.'

 

[Unkraut]

As long as we are not "going forward" at pace ...

Please don't - I can take fish puns better than that!

 

[lazybloke]

Another curious linguistic tic is 'serve' or 'give service' to describe some jobs. We hear here of men 'serving' in prisons or 'giving service' in the RAF. So what's that about, an effort to establish continuity with the Round Table and Code of Chivalry?
Might these plain speaking chaps in fact simply be working for a wage?

Doesn't feel at all curious to me, but I work in a service industry so I already associate employment with service.
The service industry is massive, so probably not an unusual perception.

 

[fozy tornip]

I've yet to hear anyone claim to 'serve' in the Health Service or Civil Service or Financial Services, people just have jobs.
"I served as a nursing auxiliary in the West Kent Eczema unit": no you didn't.
"I served in the Mau Mau Rebellion": thankyou for your service.
What distinguishes the roles that we ennoble in this way, larding on the suggestion of sacrifice and duty and higher calling?